Abstract
Fruits are typically seen, as a natural source of health-promoting compounds concentrated, mainly in their peel and pulp, though very little is known concerning lipochemical and antioxidant properties found in their respective seeds. For figs (Ficus cacrica L.), a traditional food staple for a healthy diet in Middle Eastern and North African countries, seeds are usually discarded during fruit processing and have not received particular attention. Although it remains the less studied component of Ficus carica L., the few available reports showed that the fig seeds present a significant oil yield reaching up to 30% with a very high unsaturation level (88%) alongside a promising antiradical scavenging potency. However, the varietal effect and the pollination impact on the lipochemical attributes of fig seeds oil are thus far gone unheeded. Some recent attempts were undertaken to examine these aspects and significantly affected the seed yield and its oil quality. The present chapter investigates the nutritional quality of fig seed oil as a minor oil from atypical plant sources. This chapter is in the scope of the circular economy in the fruit processing sector as there is an increasing demand for novel sources of vegetable oil, particularly unexploited fruit seeds that constitute an essential part of the waste during processing. It concludes that the fig seeds are not only a novel source of oil holding polynutrients with potential health-promoting effects but also lessen the waste discarding problem of the agro-based industry.
Keywords
- Edible oil
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids
- Lipochemical attributes
- Antioxidants
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Abbreviations
- ABTS:
-
3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid
- ALA:
-
alpha-linolenic acids
- CE:
-
circular economy
- DPPH:
-
2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl
- DR:
-
desaturation ratio
- EFAs:
-
essential fatty acids
- FA(s):
-
fatty acid (s)
- FSO:
-
fig seeds oil
- GAE:
-
gallic acid equivalent
- IC50:
-
half maximum inhibitory concentration
- IV:
-
iodine value
- LA:
-
linoleic acid
- LCPUFA:
-
long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
- LDR:
-
linoleic desaturation ratio
- MUFA:
-
monounsaturated FA
- ODR:
-
oleic desaturation ratio
- PUFA:
-
polyunsaturated FA
- SCPUFA:
-
short chain polyunsaturated fatty acids
- SV:
-
saponification value
- TSFA:
-
total saturated FA
- TUFA:
-
total unsaturated FA
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Hssaini, L. (2023). Fig Seeds: Source of Value-Added Oil Within the Scope of Circular Economy. In: Ramadan, M.F. (eds) Fig (Ficus carica): Production, Processing, and Properties. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16493-4_14
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